A popular thread in the official Blizzard forums warranted a comment from Community Manager Trikslry regarding the balance of Artanis.
Artanis has been the topic of a lot of discussion since his release, however not all of it has been positive. A lot of players can't seem to get the handle of Blade Dash (Q), Twin Blade (W) talents seems mandatory and Phase Prism (E), while effective, is hard to hit against a fleeing target.
But despite this, his power level is obvious. Shield Overload is an incredible trait and the Storm Talent upgrade to Purifier Beam might be the strongest talent in the game. The question was posted here: what changes need to happen to make Artanis viable?
In response to this question (and the points listed in the thread) community manager Trikslyr stopped by to bring some light on the situation:
"Like all our heroes, Artanis will receive changes if its needed. But, it is probably best to give the hero some time before making any dramatic changes.
Our internal numbers indicate that he is near the benchmark we want all of our characters to be at. His winrate is also increasing as players get more experience with him."
So Blizzard likes where Artanis is. It's important to note that Artanis hasn't seen any competitive play, but not because of his power level. He has been universally banned from the Road to BlizzCon opening week matches and BlizzCon itself, as players have not had a chance to play or practice with him. This is a common practice and has happened with every major hero release that coincided with a large tournament.
Perhaps after BlizzCon, we will get a more accurate look on how Artanis manages in competitive play.
?Follow us @GosuGamersHotS for more eSports news.
